Manage your power cords with DJ power switchers

Who among us would like to be able to just switch their equipment on and off from a central switch system? I know I would. In the past people have wired light switches to individual power outlets and this tip completely negates this old-school method of controlling equipment. It is more compact and in the long run costs much less.

An American Dj Pc-100A Rack Mount Power Switcher used on a reefkeeper's aquarium. Photo: Amazon.com.

I picked this tip up on Gary Parr and Christine Williams' ReefThreads #90 podcast. Their tip for managing multiple pieces of equipment on a reef tank is to use a DJ rack mount power switcher.

Plug this power switcher into a GFCI outlet with the mandatory drip loop and then plug in your equipment into the back of the unit. Label each switch with a short name for the piece of equipment that is plugged into it and you are set.

Now you can easily switch ON/OFF equipment for feeding, maintenance, etc and the back-lit switch will tell you at a glance if you have forgotten to turn equipment back on after maintenance.

This unit sells for $31 on Amazon.com and is definitely worth considering for your tank.